Chapter 99

Haruto glanced at the north side of the city.

"They seem to have broken through."

――――

"Kumoi!"

Haruto kicked and yelled, waking up Gyōkaku Kumoi, who was still in a daze.

"No! Don't kill—"

However, this only restored his ability to speak; he was still not fully conscious.

"Open your eyes wide and see who I am!"

The explosive shouts and undisguised murderous intent finally brought Gyōkaku Kumoi back to his senses.

"... Brother Haruto?"

Gyōkaku Kumoi never addressed Haruto as "senpai" or "teacher," but instead used this very gang-like form of address from the very beginning—

Considering it was driven by the interests of the nobility, it's not entirely incomprehensible.

"I've already eliminated the Quincy here. You need to set off immediately and report the situation to Teacher Mutsuki."

"I... I..."

"Smack!"

After giving Ayaka a simple bandage, Haruto rushed up and slapped Gyōkaku Kumoi hard across the face.

"I don't know how your father raised you to be like this."

Six months of teaching had established Haruto's strong presence among the fifth-grade students; otherwise, he wouldn't have acted so decisively.

"But the Gyōkaku Kumoi in my class wasn't this cowardly coward—as class representative, he couldn't protect his classmates; as a man, he couldn't protect women; if you can't even complete this simple task..."

"Go back to the Kasumioji Clan your young master again!"

Haruto's words finally brought Gyōkaku Kumoi to his senses.

"Yes, yes!"

"Hurry up."

Haruto was at his wit's end.

He had to deliver Ayaka to Isane immediately, and then rush to rescue the other students, so he had no time to report to Mutsuki- sensei and the Gotei 13.

Given the severity of the situation, Gyōkaku Kumoi, being a high-ranking nobleman, was indeed the best choice to be the "messenger".

After sending Gyōkaku Kumoi away, Haruto used Tōzanshō as a splint to temporarily immobilize Ayaka's injuries.

Then a standard princess carry—

Ah~

"Be serious."

If she weren't currently busy, Haruto would be clutching her forehead in exasperation.

"It hurts a lot, okay? How else can I distract myself?"

"... Then you'd better hurry."

"If we tighten it any further, there will be problems."

"Ayaka, are you feeling a bit off?"

Based on Haruto's understanding of Ayaka, she would never have acted this way in public before.

"It's all because you showed up at the perfect time~"

"Then you really need to get it treated quickly, in every sense of the word."

Is it far?

"While I don't know whether you prefer closer or farther away, we are indeed several cities apart right now—"

Haruto looked down at the runes on his wrist.

He didn't sense Isane's presence. The reason he knew the two sisters had broken through the blockade was because of Tenteikūra's message:

The barrier cast by the Quincy is only effective against the Hell Butterfly and cannot stop Tenteikūra's telepathic transmission.

Pity.

Isane's Reiatsu was insufficient, making it difficult to unleash the true effect of Tenteikūra; its coverage area could only cover one city.

If it weren't for Haruto Tenteikūra, which functioned as a radio, he wouldn't have been able to hear the two sisters' voices.

"Bear with me for a moment, I'll try to get there within ten minutes."

"Whoosh!"

――――

Half an hour ago, in the World of the Living.

"Has the Hell Butterfly's communication failed?"

Mutsuki Shōkaku said with a serious expression.

"Yes."

The Thirteenth Division Seated Officer, responsible for protecting the World of the Living, looked just as tense as Mutsuki Shōkaku.

"Not just in this World of the Living."

"Our contact with Captain Kaien has also been lost... There has been no response from Soul Society."

The Senkaimon the Gotei 13 are all kept by designated personnel with keys called "Kaijō". Apart from the captains and vice-captains, ordinary Seated Officers and soldiers who want to return to Soul Society from the World of the Living must first contact their respective squads in advance to open the Senkaimon from the Soul Society side.

"..."

"Daitenta, seventh seat."

Mutsuki suggested to the Seated Officer beside her:

Could you please look after these students?

Those who followed Mutsuki Shōkaku through the Senkaimon were all the worst performers in this year's sixth grade.

"What does Ms. Mutsuki mean?"

Daitenta was very polite. Although Mutsuki Shōkaku was nominally a seventh seat, he was well aware of the difference in their status.

"When I passed through the Senkaimon, I vaguely sensed something was amiss."

"The Hell Butterfly's communication being cut off is probably not due to natural causes... The students are likely in trouble."

Although Mutsuki's words implied a lack of trust in the members of the Thirteenth Division guarding the city, Daitenta did not raise any objections.

"Good!"

An opponent capable of disrupting communication within the Soul Society is certainly not someone ordinary members of the Soul Society can handle.

"If you can--"

Before Daitenta could finish speaking, Mutsuki interrupted him prematurely:

"If I can find them, I will do my best to save them."

"... Thank you for your help!"

"Um."

There's no time to lose.

"Whoosh!"

Mutsuki immediately activated her Shunpo at full speed and rushed towards the nearest city.

As the person in charge of this Konsō internship, she had the coordinates of all the Senkaimon in the World of the Living. The communication disruption did not prevent her from going through each one one by one using the process of elimination.

"..."

After Mutsuki's figure gradually disappeared into the distance.

"External force?"

Daitenta glanced at the students behind him who looked somewhat bewildered.

"An organized plan like this couldn't possibly be an operation originating from a fake; Mutsuki- kun has probably already figured out the opponent's identity..."

Quincy.

Of the Gotei 13, the Thirteenth Division has spent the most time on missions in the World of the Living and has the most dealings with Quincy.

Only.

Based on Captain Ukitake's consistent attitude, before Captain Yamamoto ordered the Quincy, the Thirteenth Division did not actually harbor much malice towards them; otherwise, they would not have chosen the 11th Division, which was not familiar with the Quincy, as their main force.

As one of the two people in charge of the Thirteenth Division in the World of the Living, Daitenta has dealt with many Quincy families.

"The scale of the war hasn't escalated yet; hopefully, they won't go too far."

These families lack top-tier combat power at the Captain-level, but their mid-to-lower-level Quincy are far stronger than ordinary Soul Reaper.

"If it really comes to the point where Captain-level needs to appear in the World of the Living..."

While Daitenta hoping that the Quincy wouldn't go too far,

"Call out!"

"!?"

A streak of pale blue light pierced through the falling snowflakes.

"Bakudō Spell #59--"

"Boom!!"

Flames and thick smoke shot into the sky.

Daitenta braced himself with his hands in front of him, and the hemispherical light barrier steadily blocked the attack. After all, he was a veteran high-ranking Seated Officer, and although his position had not changed for decades, his strength was still guaranteed.

"..."

Daitenta first quietly turned around to make sure that the terrified students behind him were alright, then turned back to face forward with a serious expression.

"Is it really necessary, Miralles?"

Daitenta was quite familiar with the newcomer; the other party wasn't a pro-war faction among the Quincy in the World of the Living, and their stance was actually quite similar to his own.

Before the enemy's family descendants were all slaughtered by the 11th Division.

"Leave now, I won't stop you."

The Quincy named Miralles was an elderly man with white hair and beard, meticulously groomed from head to toe—this was the most well-intentioned advice he could offer his "old friend."

"... You know that's impossible."

"Yes, I know... You're clearly not a hypocrite, so why did you ask that question?"

"..."

The silent winter wind was three degrees colder than before.

"Zheng."

Miralles fired a second Heilig Pfeil, Daitenta drew his Zanpakuto in return.

"Coming and going freely, roaming freely in the Yamakaze."

――――

Volume 1: Chapter 63, Did you escape? By your own strength?

Above the city.

"Bang!"

The Rikujōkōrō precisely locked onto the opponent's body, followed by the Sōkatsui, and then Kiyone's elbow strike aimed straight at the lower abdomen—

The tightly linked combos defeated yet another Quincy in less than ten seconds.